Walking back through . . .

Ever been to one of those flea markets where you walk in and are immediately hit with a visual overload? No matter how hard you try to squeeze it all in, you’re never gonna see it all the first go around. Here’s what you do:

To take in what you see first, walk around. Then, reverse your direction. Walk back through the other way, and you can catch all the things you missed the first time. Be sure to come back again either alone or with somebody different. A new face and a new day offers new details!

First time I went to Europe, I was a single girl on the hunt for travel, a fresh outlook on life and a job that could support my wanderlust. Second time around, I was a married lady. The man of my dreams and I bought a tiny old VW camper in Germany.

And for 10 months spent every moment living the dream of being together 24/7, touring cathedrals, monuments, and wonders of the world. After about 6 months of concentrated love, exhilaration and togetherness, the cathedrals and monuments began looking alike. Ron and I had blown through most of the 100+ paperbacks we brought from home and while the love was still strong, the togetherness and exhilaration were wearing thin. But we agreed it would be only a matter of time till we walked back through.

Fast forward 21 years: A little larger camper this time, and a whole lot more patience!

This time, we took our three boys and Ryan’s backpack, to be as close to a complete family as humanly possible.

They mocked our romantic photo ops with their own interpretation of true love.

The Balkan experience was a first time walk-through for us all. Ron and I had previously avoided this ’92 war-torn area and found another route to Greece.

Walking back through is never the same. Isn’t supposed to be. Many things change; some things never do.

Kind of like the old saying about which is more important: monuments or footsteps? The answer is: Footsteps. A monument only shows how far you got when you stopped. And footsteps usually promise at least one more new adventure or one more walk-through.

If you’ve already been, go back. If you haven’t gone, what are you waiting for?